Rate My Itinerary: Andalusia

Lots of worthwhile places, and you’re spending at least 2 nights in most of them. Years ago, we had just one in Ronda, and that worked. We stayed in Arcos de la Frontera for one night, rather than Jerez.

Looks like a good itinerary. I agree with Arcos de la Frontera as one place I would not miss. One change I would make is to swap in charming Arcos for Jerez ( a bustling city of 200,000) and stay two nights in Arcos. You can then easily drive to Ronda from Arcos de la Frontera on the way to Malaga.

The time saved checking in and out of two different properties over two days will simplify your trip.

I'd cut Jerez. Take the bus from Sevilla to Ronda, and Ronda to Malaga. You don't need a car to see Ronda, intercity buses in Europe are generally good quality compared to the US.

So, my itinerary is

• Sevilla (3)
• Ronda (1)
• Malaga (3) Added a night for going to the beach.
• Granada (2)
• Cordoba (2)

I would personally also look at doing fewer cities in that length of trip. I would rather stay longer in 3 cities so I cut down on transit, changing hotels, maneuvering around with your bags, checking in, etc. Sevilla, for me personally, is a top 5 European city. It has the magic of the medieval streets, southern Spanish charm, gardens, architecture with a vibrant city people actually live in, and it's not completely over-touristed or too expensive. Cordoba has the amazing Mosque-Cathedral, and the old town is certainly historic and cool, but it feels a bit lifeless in the old city, and the modern part of the city is a bit average in my book. So, I would argue for another night in Sevilla and one less in Cordoba, or even doing the mosque as a day trip on the way from Madrid to Sevilla.

I stayed in Jerez, went to Cadiz by train and to Arcos by bus, then rented a car and drove to Ronda (multi-night stay) and dropped the car when I got to Granada. What is your plan for Jerez? Ronda? I used Ronda as a base to enjoy both the city and the surrounding hill towns.

If you've been to Madrid before, why not spend less time there and more time in your other places? Do not underestimate the time you'll use each time you change location and get oriented to your new city.

All of this is so helpful — thank you! Sounds like the part I most need to address is picking either Ronda or Arcos and staying in one of those for two nights, instead of a night in Jerez and a night in Ronda.

Maybe we’ll skip Jerez (there are no horse shows while we’re there, and while we like sherry, not sure the tasting justifies the limited time we have), and instead stop by Itálica on the way to either Arcos or Ronda, and spend two days, two nights based in one and seeing some more white villages and those cave paintings, with our car.

Driving into Granada is a pain. I’d drop off the car at the airport and then take a bus to the city. Granada was the only city where I saw a lost American company drive the wrong way on a street and then get out and scream at each other for five minutes for not knowing how to get out of the city. It was entertaining for the locals but I do wonder if couple are still married

You could simply visit Arcos de la Frontera en route to Ronda from either Sevilla or Jerez de la Frontera. One can get a good feel for the town in am hour. The original itinerary is very doable.

After visiting more than a few Roman ruins in Italy and elsewhere around the Mediterranean, I wasn't very impressed by Italica. OTOH my visit was over a decade ago and there have been excavations since. If you are particularly interested in such sites, spend a couple hours.

Arcos vs Ronda. I spent about 1/2 day seeing Arcos which is perched on a hilltop (beautiful views). The main parking lot is below the town. I took the free shuttle up and walked down. The ascent is pretty steep so I think it would be challenging to drive up and down, and you'd want a room with parking. I've used Ronda twice as a base to visit the hill towns. It's much bigger than Arcos, so there are more hotel and restaurant choices. The center where the sights are is pretty level and I found it easy to drive in and out of for day trips. It's also close to more hill towns than Arcos which is on the western edge of the hills.